


Paving The Way Home

by magicalIdiot



Series: A Reimagined Verdant Wind [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate POV of Finding Your Way Home, Claude tries to make the best of a bad situation, Claude von Riegan-centric, Everyone is recruited except Edelgard and Hubert, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Gen, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24870232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicalIdiot/pseuds/magicalIdiot
Summary: While Dimitri was busy recovering, the rest of the army hadn't stopped moving. Claude always did like to make things happen through a little behind-the-scenes magic, after all.A companion fic to Finding Your Way Home (the first fic in this series). You ought to read that one first for the full story, as this fic will contain snippets that are not as well connected.
Series: A Reimagined Verdant Wind [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799512
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14
Collections: Bread Eaters





	1. How To Capture Someone Who Needs Help

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter corresponds with the first chapter of Finding Your Way Home, and provides some more concrete details as to how Dimitri was captured in the first place.

**Great Tree Moon, Day 30**

The last thing Byleth expected to find at Gronder Field was Dimitri and Dedue, five years later, both looking worse for the wear. Dimitri was hardly all there, really, with that feral snarl in his voice and a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. “I was right,” Felix said bitterly from his spot on the front lines, just behind Byleth and Claude. “The boar has finally shown his true face.” And yet despite the bitterness in his twisted words, his eyes were full of regret and sorrow.

“Oh, Dimitri...” Ingrid whispered, her voice ripe with pain. Byleth wondered if she would have joined their class if she had known what would happen to Dimitri as a result. Byleth resolved then and there to get Dimitri back. An exchanged look with Claude told them that he felt the same way.

“Fight to win, but not to kill unless you have to,” Claude commanded. “We’re here to fight Edelgard’s forces, not Dimitri’s.”

But Dimitri’s inhuman strength proved difficult to avoid, and he didn’t seem to differentiate between friend and foe. The remainders of the Kingdom army were more than happy to lay their lives down for Dimitri’s bloodlust, and Byleth spent most of the battle flying by the skin of their teeth and cooking up hasty strategies to minimize Kingdom casualties while also escaping Dimitri’s death blows. After a particularly bad spill where Dimitri took down Annette and Mercedes in one hit, a plan started to come together in Byleth’s mind.

“Ingrid, Sylvain, Felix, go after Edelgard,” Byleth decided as they cut down another Kingdom soldier whose feistiness is too much to handle. “Hilda, Raphael, Caspar, with me. Lysithea, Annette, hit him from a distance.”

“Don’t kill him, please,” Ingrid said quietly before taking back off into the air on her pegasus. Byleth had no intention of letting Dimitri die today, if only he’d  _ stop massacring their forces _ .

Byleth narrowly dodged an axe aimed for their head, and as they whirled around to counter the blow, they found themself face to face with Dedue.

“Professor,” Dedue grunted, rearing his axe back for another strike.

Byleth swung their sword upward, meeting Dedue’s blow with just enough strength to block it. “Dedue.” Byleth jumped back, then rushed back in for a quick strike. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“His Highness wills it,” Dedue responded, unfazed as Byleth’s sword deflects off his armor.

“Well, tell his Highness that we have a common enemy, and we should be working together!” Annette yelled, ignoring Byleth’s instructions completely to hurl a devastating blast of wind at Dedue. The wind knocked Dedue off his feet and nearly took Byleth along with him. 

“Annette, stay back,” Byleth said firmly, but not as firmly as they would have if Annette’s attack hadn’t been a success. They took the split second opportunity to dart past Dedue, Hilda and Raphael following closely behind. Caspar wasn’t as lucky and was stuck parrying Dedue’s blows with Annette’s support. Caspar roared and happily took the challenge. Not exactly what Byleth had planned, but they had enough Divine Pulses to turn back time if Caspar lost.

“What’s the plan, Professor?” Hilda asked, nervously eyeing Dimitri, who was tossing aside Empire and Alliance forces alike.

“Knock him out. Take him back with us, and figure out what’s wrong,” Byleth said, extending their sword to its full length.

“Uh, duh,” Hilda responded, rolling her eyes. “But how are we going to do that?”

Oh. Right. Byleth shrugged. “Play it by ear.”

“ _ Professor _ !” Hilda said, scandalized. “We can’t just take down Dimitri by  _ playing it by ear _ !”

But Byleth and Raphael were already gone, charging forward towards Dimitri without a plan or a single brain cell between them.

It took practically every Divine Pulse Byleth had left and a lot of luck to knock Dimitri out. Byleth didn’t like it, but they had to acknowledge that there was no option that spared every soldier. All they could do was minimize the number of casualties in Dimitri’s path, so Byleth, Hilda, and Raphael separated Dimitri from his troops, allowing Dimitri to run on ahead towards Edelgard. The other Alliance troops did their best to force the Imperial troops out of Dimitri’s way per Byleth’s orders, giving Dimitri a direct line to Edelgard, as Byleth realized after their fourth Divine Pulse that Dimitri really would kill anyone, including Sylvain, if it means getting to Edelgard faster.

Byleth didn’t want Edelgard dead, though. They wanted to believe that there was another way to end this war, a way without taking the Emperor’s head. But if there was a person on this battlefield who had the sheer raw strength to contend with Dimitri, it’s Edelgard. The key lay in making sure that she didn’t kill him, so Byleth sent Claude and the previous Blue Lions over to Edelgard as soon as possible so they could wear her down while they were busy corralling Dimitri. Then, Dimitri and Edelgard clashed, and Edelgard tried to retreat as she realized that the injuries she’s taking were too heavy. That’s when the Golden Deer swooped in, preventing Dimitri from stopping Edelgard’s retreat and dealing the final blow to knock him out. 

...That was the plan, anyway, but it was a difficult balance to strike. One time, Edelgard killed Claude before Dimitri even reached her. The next, Dimitri killed Hilda and Raphael in a single strike. Then, Felix died as he tries to get the boar prince under control. And then Dimitri killed Edelgard and died himself. It kept going like that, kept failing, until Byleth’s whole body was trembling. But with two Divine Pulses left, the plan goes off without a hitch. It’s a pity that they couldn’t snatch Edelgard, too, but there were barely enough Deer left in good condition to take on Dimitri, even with his blood pouring openly from multiple wounds.

The one thing Byleth forgot to account for was that the other Kingdom forces wouldn’t give up, even once Dimitri went down; despite Caspar’s best attempts, Dedue was still standing and charging straight for them, and Gilbert was backing him up. Luckily, Claude always had his negotiator hat on.

“Wait, wait, we can talk this out,” Claude said, swooping in on his wyvern. “We don’t want to hurt you. We’re on the same side here— against the Empire.”

Dedue kept his axe raised. “His Highness wants Edelgard’s head and nothing else. You have stood in his way, and that makes us enemies.”

“Edelgard was going to kill him. He wasn’t going to win that battle,” Ingrid argued, landing her pegasus next to Claude. “We’re trying to defeat the Empire, but we can’t do that unless we work together. Not like we did today.”

“Look, I know you’re following Dimitri’s commands, but maybe instead, you should be doing what’s best for him. Something’s clearly wrong, and we just want to help him,” Claude said carefully, trying to defuse the situation.

“I know you like to follow the boar’s orders blindly, but even you have to agree that you don’t want him dead,” Felix cut in, using the same biting tone as always.

“What is your plan for him, then?” Gilbert asked, his piercing gaze on Claude.

Claude turned to Byleth. They hadn’t really thought this far. It’s true that Byleth wanted to help Dimitri, to bring him back from the craze that had consumed him over the course of five years, but they didn’t have enough information right now to know how to do that. After all, Byleth was a mercenary by training, not a therapist.

“The boy clearly needs a break. Look at how worn out he is,” Manuela spoke up, limping over to the group with Hanneman’s help. Byleth briefly glanced back towards her students and noted that Manuela had healed everyone’s major injuries (except Dimitri’s, but Mercedes had that under control), with great expense to herself. Once a teacher, always a teacher. “Five years ago, when Dimitri was in my class, I thought that he had managed his trauma from the Duscur incident, but it’s still eating away at him, isn’t it?” Dedue nodded silently. “Then I want to give him the break he needs and help him work through it properly. I don’t know what other demons he’s facing, but Dimitri is still my student, and I want to help him.”

Byleth nodded. “I feel the same way. We all do.”

Dedue lowered his axe. “I will entrust this to you, with the caveat that you allow me to accompany you and watch after His Highness.”

“Sure thing, Dedue. You were also our classmate, you know,” Claude said with a wink.

“It will be nice to have you back,” Byleth agreed. “And you?” they said, turning to Gilbert.

Gilbert sighed. “I agree that His Highness deserves a break, but the Kingdom needs a strong leader right now.”

“Then, let’s give Dimitri the time to become that leader. Lend your strength to our forces, and let’s take Edelgard down together. If we do that, Cornelia’s sure to release her grip on Faerghus,” Claude said firmly.

“...very well. I will allow you to take His Highness with you,” Gilbert acquiesced, and Byleth let out a breath they hadn’t known they were holding. “But as for our forces, I believe our army will better be served turning towards liberating Kingdom lands.”

Claude nodded. “Of course. You shouldn’t leave your people to suffer. But we should coordinate, so that we can be stronger together. You’re welcome to use Garreg Mach as a base for your operations.”

“Thank you for your kindness. That will be much appreciated,” Gilbert said, bowing his head.

At that, Byleth felt their knees collapse from underneath them. It had been quite a while since they’d used so many Divine Pulses, and they were exhausted. “Teach!” Claude yelped, and Byleth felt Claude’s arms wrap around their body and lift them up onto his wyvern.

“Hanneman, take notes.  _ That’s _ how you should treat a lady when she collapses,” Byleth heard Manuela tease as their vision faded.

“I caught you, Manuela! What more do you want?” Hanneman argued back.

Claude chuckled. “It’s all right, Teach. Get some rest. We’ll get you back to camp, safe and sound.”

Byleth’s vision faded, and they fell into darkness.


	2. Quick! Come Up With A Plan!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Byleth is, once again, completely out of their comfort zone, and Claude begins to form a plan.
> 
> This chapter belongs between the first and second chapters of Finding Your Way Home, if you're trying to place it.

**Harpstring Moon, Day 5**

Byleth was a genius on the battlefield, but they were not nearly as adept at helping people with feelings and personal matters and family. They didn’t even know the full extent of Dimitri’s trauma. They needed to learn more, and they needed a scheme, and for that, there were only two people to turn to.

“You want more information about Dimitri’s past?” Hilda said with a grin. “Sure thing, Professor! But you’ll owe me big time.”

“I think this will go better if we split up. Hilda can take Dedue. You and I should talk to Sylvain, Ingrid, and Felix,” Claude decided, gesturing to Byleth. “We should bring Manuela, too. It might be useful.”

“Ooh! And I can see if Marianne and Mercedes have heard Dimitri say anything, since they’re tending to him,” Hilda added cheerfully, perhaps too much so.

Their first and second command really were too mischievous for their own good, Byleth thought, but at least it was coming in handy. That was how Byleth ended up in the war council room with Ingrid, Sylvain, Felix, Claude, and Manuela. The room was tense due to the circumstances; Felix hadn’t stopped training since their return from Gronder Field, and Ingrid had hardly left the stables. Even Sylvain was on edge.

“Why won’t you let us see Dimitri?” Ingrid said demandingly, her angry gaze trained on Claude.

“I’m the one who suggested that. It wouldn’t be good for you or him,” Manuela said gently, stepping in before Claude could give a snippy answer. “Dimitri is not the same person right now that you remember him to be. It hurts to see him like this, doesn’t it?”

“Dimitri has been dead for a long time. All that remains is a ruthless boar,” Felix spat.

“He is not dead. He’s… struggling,” Byleth said.

“But we don’t know exactly what’s going on that has His Highness convinced that monstrous killing is the only way, and we were hoping you might have something to say on the matter,” Claude jumped in, picking up his teacher’s slack. Byleth silently thanked him.

“I mean, it all goes back to the Tragedy of Duscur, doesn’t it? It always does,” Sylvain said, his somber eyes betraying his carefree voice.

“The Tragedy of Duscur left a mark on all of you,” Manuela noted mournfully.

“That’s an understatement,” Felix grumbled.

Byleth didn’t know much about the Tragedy of Duscur or Faerghus politics, but from Dimitri’s disjointed rambling, it most sounded like… “He wants Edelgard dead to avenge those who died in the Tragedy?”

“But nobody knows who is responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur,” Claude pointed out.

“Something about seeing Edelgard as the Flame Emperor has him convinced that she was involved. He kept saying as much before the attack on Garreg Mach,” Ingrid said, brows knit with confusion.

Claude got that determined expression he always had whenever a scheme was brewing, so Byleth decided to let him be. “Manuela, what do you think?” Byleth said, turning to the only person in the room who might be able to be considered an expert.

“I think Dimitri is suffering from survivor’s guilt. He wants to avenge the dead, but a part of him knows that he’s compromising his morals to get there,” Manuela said, looking over the notes she’d taken. Byleth was surprised the woman could be so organized when she wanted to. “I think if we all are patient with him, we can help him realize that there are other paths to his goal.” Manuela looked at Sylvain, then Ingrid, then Felix with the authority of a professor. “I would like to have weekly therapy sessions with each of you and Dimitri.”

Felix scowled. “What a waste of time. What makes you think you can help him?”

“I can,” Byleth said, as if this was enough to suddenly have all the answers.

Manuela gave Felix a sympathetic look. “I know that you think this is hopeless, Felix, but please give it a chance. If it doesn’t work, then you can give up, okay?”

“Fine,” Felix muttered.

“Do you think you can help him?” Ingrid asked earnestly.

Manuela nodded. “I do think he needs a break from seeing people he deeply cares about because he will feel the need to put up that facade of his instead of aiming for a true recovery. I think maybe some time with Alois might be good for him, too,” she added as an afterthought. “Don’t worry. We’ll work you in as Dimitri becomes better able to handle seeing you.”

Surprising everyone, Sylvain put a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder and said, “I think you’re right about Dimitri. He expects too much of himself around us. He needs some time away from everyone to remember how to be himself.”

“If Sylvain thinks it has a shot, I’ll agree with this, too,” Ingrid said. Felix scowled but said nothing, which probably was the closest to agreement that he could muster.

“Thank you,” Byleth said, giving them a small smile.

“However,” Ingrid said quickly, “that doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to therapy sessions for myself. I don’t need help. I’m doing just fine!”

“So am I,” Felix added.

“Me, too,” Sylvain said with a blinding smile.

Byleth regarded the dark circles under Ingrid’s eyes, the angry scowl on Felix’s face, the curve of Sylvain’s fake smile. These three were in  _ severe _ need of help, but perhaps it was worth tackling one issue at a time. “Let us at least meet weekly to discuss how we can help Dimitri, and how we’re moving forward with his treatment. We can discuss therapy for you all at a later time.”

The meeting wrapped up after that, with Ingrid, Felix, and Sylvain quickly taking their leave. Manuela moved to leave and nearly collided with Hilda at the door.

“I come bearing gifts, m’lord,” Hilda said mockingly, bowing dramatically.

“I receive your gifts with the utmost pleasure, m’lady,” Claude said with a grin, hopping up from his seat so he could give Hilda an equally ridiculous bow. “What did you learn?”

“Wellllll, apparently, Dimitri was hanging on by a thread until Cornelia sentenced him to execution. Dedue was able to help Dimitri escape, but he wasn’t able to keep in contact with Dimitri during his years of recovery, so he doesn’t know how Dimitri spiralled so much. Dedue’s not really the type to question his liege, y’know? He’s known that Dimitri was suffering for a long time, but he respected Dimitri’s wishes and stayed out of it,” Hilda said, ending with a big sigh. “Man, Faerghus loyalty is so annoying! Just imagine how much more they’d be able to accomplish if they were more selfish.”

Claude chuckled. “Yeah, it’s definitely caused its fair share of problems. What about Mercedes and Marianne, have they picked up on anything so far?”

“Dimitri woke up earlier today, apparently! But he didn’t seem to recognize Mercedes, and he spent a lot of the time talking to people who weren’t there. And Marianne heard him muttering in his sleep about revenge and maybe some nightmare-related stuff,” Hilda said with a dismissive shrug.

“Hallucinations, perhaps?” Manuela said, her eyebrows quirked up in dismay. “I’ll have to talk with Mercedes to get more details.”

Hilda gave Manuela her trademark smile. “Just remember that you owe me for this! Next time you need a favor, I won’t be so easily convinced.”

Byleth knew that wasn’t true, but they nodded anyway. “Good work, Hilda.”

“Thanks, Professor!” Hilda said, beaming. “Anyway, Lorenz and I have some important business to attend to, so I’ll see you later!” And then, with the speed that only a slacker could achieve, Hilda fled the room.

Manuela sighed, shaking her head, and then turned to Byleth. “I think, before we try to help Dimitri with therapy, it might be good for you to talk to him. He’ll respond well to you,” she said.

“Uh, okay,” Byleth responded, smooth as ever. “I trust your judgment.”

“And I trust you to get Dimitri to warm up to the idea of therapy,” Manuela said with a wink before leaving the room. Byleth was left with a sinking feeling that they’d been tricked to do extra work again.

Byleth walked back over to Claude, who was staring at his notes and tapping his chin with two fingers, deep in thought.

“What’s up your sleeve?” Byleth asked.

“The Tragedy of Duscur. I don’t know much about it, but I want to find out who’s responsible for it,” Claude said, then quickly added, “Both because I’m curious, and because I think it could help Dimitri.”

Byleth chuckled softly. “I think you’re right.”

Claude paused. “Teach, do you think Dimitri will ever be well enough to take back the throne?”

“We’ll just have to see,” Byleth responded, cryptic as ever, but it was the truth. There was no telling how Dimitri would fare, or if he could recover. He certainly was in no state to handle the stress and responsibilities of ruling a nation right now, even if Gilbert wanted him to. “Why, what are you thinking about?”

“Well, just, you know, after the war, if we  _ do _ manage to take Edelgard down…” Claude sighed. “I want to unite Fodlan, but I don’t know how feasible that is. The Empire will be without a ruler, and Faerghus is already without one, but if Dimitri were to take back the reins…”

“...then you’d have to think of a different solution,” Byleth realized.

“Bingo. I don’t know that it’s a great idea to unite Fodlan all at once after a war, anyway. The Kingdom and Empire especially need some stability, some time to recover from the ravages of war. A new government might not bring that for them.” Claude groaned and threw his quill down, putting his head in his hands. “I don’t know, Teach. This government stuff is tricky.”

“You should consult Ferdinand and Lorenz about this. They are both very well versed in government,” Byleth suggested, a small smile coming to their face at Claude’s passion. “Be sure to get some rest tonight, Claude.”

“Back at ya, Teach. You keep yourself far too busy,” Claude said with a wink.

“War is a busy time,” Byleth said, and Claude sighed at that.

“You said it. War is a busy time indeed.”


	3. An Unpopular Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude faces some pushback on his decision to harbor Dimitri.
> 
> This happens between chapters 2 and 3 of Finding Your Way Home.

**Harpstring Moon, Day 12**

Claude was probably going to shoot an arrow straight through the skull of the next person who questioned his judgment. Did he know what he was doing when it came to Dimitri? Not at all, but his gut told him that this was the right thing to do for him, for the war, for Fodlan, for his dream. He needed Faerghus on his side in its entirety, and that meant helping Dimitri heal— and hopefully, helping the kingdom as a whole heal from its collective trauma. Claude didn’t know shit about how to do that, but he _did_ know how to lead an army and fill out paperwork, so that’s what he was doing while Byleth and Manuela handled Dimitri.

But by the goddess, if one more person questioned him for redirecting “valuable resources” that should be used to “win the war,” he was going to lose it.

Hilda knocked on his door— he knew it was her because of the pattern of noises— and Claude cursed. She was here to remind him of the war council meeting, which meant he’d gone another night without sleep. Well, he’d catch up eventually. There was a lot to do to prepare for the siege on Fort Merceus.

“Coming,” Claude called out before grabbing a bottle from his rack of concoctions and taking a long swig. He’d managed to mix together something stronger than coffee but shorter lasting, so hopefully it would get him through the meeting, and then he could take a nap.

Claude quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes, double-checked that he looked sharp, and then answered the door. As expected, Hilda was waiting for him, arms crossed and expression annoyed.

“Gosh, Claude, how long does it take to get ready? You take even longer than I do!” she teased.

“It’s been a long night,” Claude said, stifling a yawn. The two started walking towards the council meeting room, and Claude was momentarily blinded by sunlight. It had been dark the last time he'd been outside. “Er, morning, I guess.”

Hilda sighed noisily. “You need your rest, doofus.”

“I’ll get some shuteye after the meeting. Hopefully.”

Hilda shot him a disapproving look. “I don’t believe you as far as I can throw you. And that’s pretty damn far.”

Claude laughed at that. “Yeah, fair enough. I don’t have the best track record.”

They approached the council room, and already, Claude could hear raised voices inside. Claude remembered too late that today’s meeting included a larger number of people than usual since it was the middle of the month. Unlike the daily council meetings, it wouldn’t just be his former classmates in the room, which probably explained the yelling. Claude was almost certain he could pick out Felix’s voice.

Hilda winced. “I don’t envy you at all.”

“Neither do I,” Claude muttered, feeling a lot like Seteth as he pushed the double doors open and strode into the room.

The room was a lot less messy than it had sounded from outside. Felix was shouting across the table at another soldier while Sylvain and Ingrid held him back. Lorenz had his head in his hands, and Marianne was patting his shoulder consolingly. Seteth was trying to break up the argument unsuccessfully. Byleth was almost asleep on the table.

“—say one more thing about His Highness, and I’ll put my sword in your—”

Claude cleared his throat, and Felix fell silent. “Let’s start today’s meeting with that, actually. I know a lot of you are concerned about the diversion of resources to King Dimitri’s recovery—”

“We need all hands on deck, sir. We can’t afford to give up valuable healers and soldiers to make one man feel better about himself!” The soldier who Felix had been yelling at spoke up.

“War is a stressful time, and we could use all the help we can get. Besides, the worst thing to do in a war is abandon your humanity. We must all trust and rely on each other to heal and move forward,” Claude said calmly, running through a speech that he had, at this point, delivered many times. “Furthermore, I have a plan to make up for any lost manpower. Leave the details to me. I’ll make sure we still succeed at this month’s campaign.”

“What makes the crazy so-called king of Faerghus any more special than the rest of us?” the same soldier said angrily. Claude saw Felix drawing his sword from the corner of his eye.

At that moment, a really genius idea hit Claude, the kind you only get when you’re sleep-deprived and at your wit’s end.

“Hmm. You make an excellent point. Teach, isn’t there some proof that soldiers perform better when they’re happy and mentally stable?”

Byleth gave a thumbs up, head still resting on the table and eyes still closed.

“Yes, there is. And war makes that really difficult, what with all the traumatic events we experience on the battlefield,” Manuela cut in.

Claude nodded. “Great. In that case, we’ll let the whole army know that Dimitri isn’t special at all, and anyone who wants to undergo therapy should talk to Professor Manuela immediately so we can work out the scheduling details.”

The soldier’s jaw dropped and he said nothing.

“Okay, well if we have that settled, I’d like to discuss our strategy for the attack on Fort Merceus…”


End file.
